A BENEFIT fraudster who claimed more than £40,000 in overpayments has been jailed.

Peter Collier, of Briarwood Road, Mossley Hill, was jailed for nine months for the four-year scam.

Liverpool crown court heard Collier, 46, had been claiming he lived alone when in fact he had been living with his partner.

The court was told that the pair had joint finances, and had been on holiday together.

Investigations by the council’s benefits department snared Collier, who must now pay the £40,000 back.

Collier was charged with two counts of dishonestly making false representations under the Social Security Administration Act and failing to notify the Department for Work and Pensions of a change in his living arrangements.

The judge in the case told him the theft was substantial, and that theft from the public purse was a serious offence.

He was jailed for nine months for the housing and council tax fraud and four months for the income support charge, to run concurrently.